LemonMay 16

A rant on why I think we need realistic Solarpunk, plus some other things 1/2 ☀️

Felt compelled to make this. It will finally stop floating around in my head 🎉

Podcast over here if you're interested: https://podcast.tomasino.org/@SolarpunkPrompts

#solarPunk #hopePunk #art #myArt #comics #sustainability

Solarpunk Prompts (@SolarpunkPrompts) • Activity

What is Solarpunk? Why does it matter? In this series we discuss Solarpunk as a movement within art, literature, and activism. We explore its themes and talk about what separates it from its genre peers. Each episode explores a writing prompt set in a Solarpunk aesthetic with examples and inspirations from our world today. Based upon story prompts created by Paweł Ngei⁩. Episode transcripts available here New logo and cover image by Natalia Vish (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Tomasino Podcasts
Show threadNeil KandalgaonkarMay 16

@the_lemonaut I really appreciate this

My exposure to solarpunk has been a) a yogurt commercial, b) thanks to super-technology, cats are enthusiastic partcipants in the weekly commune meetings*

In theory I liked the genre but I didn't see anything I really identified with. Subbing to the pod for more.

Hard-solarpunk? Though "hard" has the wrong connotations

* Extremely unrealistic, obviously the cats would skip them

Show threadalxd ✏️ solarpunk promptsMay 16
@neilk I'm one of the proponents of such hard solarpunk - and while I don't know if we have a label, together with @the_lemonaut and a dozen other artists we created https://storyseedlibrary.org/ to promote more grounded climate future art! :)
Welcome to Story Seed Library!

A library of Solarpunk art and story seeds helping you imagine a better climate future!

Story Seed Library
Show threadNeil KandalgaonkarMay 18

@alxd @the_lemonaut I tried listening to this but I realized it’s intended for writers

I’m not sure I approve of this tbh. There are two independent premises that are assumed true: that there is an optimistic future, and that it has the solarpunk aesthetic. Then we’re supposed to construct rationalizations for it

I could understand the prompt to be optimistic xor to write about future communitarianism but both simultaneously? idk. Le Guin would never.

Show threadcwicseolforMay 22
@neilk @alxd @the_lemonaut Having read the thread through my hunch is that the issue here is the idea that it would conform to a solarpunk *aesthetic* - imo that’s where the cart gets before the horse. Form should follow function; our culture’s habit of putting marketing first means solarpunk is seen as a “look” rather than a set of values. A look *emerging from* those values bespeaks practical concerns, eg if ‘humans should be happy,’ beauty is valuable.
Show threadcwicseolforMay 22
@neilk @alxd @the_lemonaut This overlaps with the implications of “hard” (foibles noted; perhaps “plausible” or “realistic” is better?) solarpunk. It’s entirely possible that implementing the values gives us something that looks more grunge, like jugaad makeshift culture, at least at first, before the -punk part becomes irrelevant and we just have [good society]. That would be solarpunk, but people aren’t used to seeing it & don’t recognize it as such.
Show threadcwicseolfor

@neilk @alxd @the_lemonaut But humans having similar biology, there are constellations of what we find beautiful, so it follows there would be overlaps: centering natural beauty is generally accepted a solarpunk principle.

But natural beauties vary: we’d center plurality rather than centering/ aping the biomes of the wealthy global north as The Best Ideal. So even prefab fait-accompli done-deal post-punk success has no single look, varying bioregionally.

May 22 at 11:41amWeb
Show threadcwicseolforMay 22
@neilk @alxd @the_lemonaut So essentially to me any call to create within the solarpunk space is a call to ideate lifeways which center diverse biological thriving and ecological balance, and which accept technology as a tool rather than a proxy master. If human and nonhuman community wellbeing were given primacy, what could humanity do with all our tools?